


Conviction

by Eressë (eresse21)



Series: The Sons of Elrond [8]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Community: fanfic100, Fourth Age, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-19 08:52:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2382386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eresse21/pseuds/Eress%C3%AB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The past shadows a still fragile present. </p><p>Written for the fanfic100 challenge on LJ. Fandom: J.R.R. Tolkien - The Sons of Elrond.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Conviction

**Author's Note:**

> _The characters belong to the wizard of storytelling himself, JRR Tolkien and/or his estate. No offense is intended or profit made in my use of them._
> 
> This piece was written purely on an impulse and has no relation whatsoever to anything I’ve written so far. Make what you will of it.

**Prompt: Who?**

Minas Tirith, F.A. 5  
He’d only meant to take in some fresh air. To a Wood-elf, Minas Tirith and its stone walls and edifices could be suffocating. And so he’d slipped away from the feast hosted by the King and Queen in honor of the Prince of Ithilien and his new bride, the White Lady of Rohan.

He retreated to the small, enclosed garden behind the Tower of Ecthelion. It was not the same as a sprawling forest, a verdant orchard or even an outdoor garden but it would do for his purpose. Before he could relax however he heard voices and realized two men were approaching. 

What they were discussing he could not make out, but both sounded agitated and he prudently slipped behind a trellis overgrown with a profusion of flowers and vines, unwilling to embarrass whoever was coming with the discovery that someone had borne witness to their argument. Disbelief and consternation struck him when he finally recognized their voices just before the pair entered the garden. He cautiously peered out through a gap in the floral cover. 

“You ask for the impossible, Elrohir.”

“Nay, I only ask for what is right.”

“And can you so easily set the past aside? Can you truly forget?”

“You know ‘tis not as simple as that. But it must be so. ‘Tis not only your heart or mine at stake in this. Please let it go. Let _me_ go.”

“Try as I might, I cannot forget what we shared. I cannot forget you! How can I let you go when a part of my heart is still yours, beloved?”

“Do not call me that!”

“But it is what I feel.”

“You cannot continue to feel thusly. _She_ owns your heart now as I would have _him_ own mine.”

“How can you say that to my face? You wound me grievously.”

“I have borne a deeper wound these many years. Would you begrudge me this chance to heal? To know a love all my own?” 

When the other did not speak, Elrohir turned to walk away. But of a sudden he was grabbed by the arm and pulled back. Before he could act or speak, he was drawn into a hungry kiss. And before he could summon resistance, his body betrayed him and for the briefest while he returned the caress.

Legolas saw and pain pierced him to the core as if a spear had been hurled through his very heart. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists to still their trembling. The pain did not abate even when he heard Elrohir berate his companion with palpable anger.

“Wherefore your cruelty? And where is your honor?” The Elf-knight’s voice shook with mingled rage and anguish. “I thought you at least cared for my well-being. My thanks for showing me how wrong I was to believe that you did!” 

“I do care! But I needed to know if you did and, yea, it pleases me that you still do. Elrohir—”

“Naught will come of this. You made your choice as I have made mine. I will _not_ betray them and neither will you. Return to her forthwith!”

Legolas kept still and waited until the sound of footsteps faded away. When he heard no more, he heaved a desolate sigh. And with dismay heard a sharp and shocked intake of breath. Knowing himself discovered he stepped out from behind the trellis to meet Elrohir’s anxious gaze.

“How long?” the twin whispered.

“Long enough,” Legolas bleakly replied. 

Sorrow replaced the anxiety in Elrohir’s eyes. “I did not plan to meet with him,” he said. “I saw you leave and followed you and he followed me in turn. I did not desire anything that passed between us here. I swear, I did not break faith with you.” 

That was true. Elrohir had not betrayed him. The younger twin had not sought the kiss, had not wanted it. But… he had responded to it. Had shown that he still held affection for his erstwhile lover. 

Legolas could not deny what he had seen. Or that it hurt him deeply.

Elrohir’s eyes glistened in the dim light. He reached out a hand beseechingly to the archer. 

“The past is his, I cannot change that. But what I am now and all that I have is yours and yours alone, Legolas.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I love you. I cannot bear to lose you as well.”

Legolas caught his breath at the note of pleading in the Elf-knight’s voice and found it pained him even more profoundly than the sight of him in another’s arms. He could not bear to have his proud lover humble himself so. 

Anger at his rival for bringing the warrior to this pass ripped through him. Eyes flashing dangerously, he reached for Elrohir and pulled him flush against his lean body. Crushing their lips together in a searing, open-mouthed kiss, he reasserted his ownership of the younger twin.

Wild desire flared between them and he knew with certainty that Elrohir indeed wished to be his. But the Elf-knight needed his help to buttress his will should it falter now and again. 

In that instant, the prince made his choice.

Not only Elrohir’s present but his infinite future as well was Legolas’s to keep. And keep both he would with the same implacable resolve that had seen him through nigh three millennia of life’s vicissitudes. His hold on his Peredhel lover tightened. 

He would not relinquish Elrohir to the past and damn him to a hopeless love. The Elf-knight was his greatest prize; he would never give him up. 

‘Twas time Aragorn accepted his loss and learned to live with it. 

**************************  
Glossary:  
F.A. – Fourth Age  
Peredhel – Half-elven/Half-elf  
wherefore – for what purpose or reason ( _archaic_ )  
forthwith – without delay ( _archaic_ )

The End


End file.
